Ukrainian far-right march to be banned?

April 27, 2007 9:00am

Authorities seem likely to ban a march commemorating Ukrainian Nazi SS veterans scheduled for Saturday in Kiev. The municipality appealed to a Kiev district court to ban the event. The march is being organized by the ultranationalist Ukrainian National Labor Party to commemorate Ukrainians who fought in World War II alongside Nazis in the SS Galichina division. The division fought the Soviet Red Army; some of its units continued fighting the Soviets until 1953. Some historians say the units also were responsible for killing Jews. Ukrainian Jews had expressed indignation over President Viktor Yuschenko’s initiative to grant official recognition to Ukrainians who fought alongside the Nazis and offer them privileges similar to those bestowed on Red Army veterans. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, Galichina division veterans often have been described as fighters for Ukrainian independence.